CBS2 News moves studios again

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: WBBM-Ch. 2 considers moving newscasts to 2nd floor from showcase street-level studio : Phil Rosenthal | Media : January 28, 2009 : Will WBBM-Ch. 2's newscasts move upstairs before moving up in the ratings? : It's been four months since the CBS-owned outlet completed the move into posh new headquarters across from Daley Plaza, and the station still hasn't quite figured out a truly effective way to make use of its street-level showcase news studio. : Rather than a great a view across Dearborn Street of the iconic Picasso statue, City Hall and the Daley Center, the most striking visuals behind the news crew much of the time are passing automobiles and people who either have made a point to pause and peek inside or clearly are in a rush to get somewhere else. : Previous WBBM management believed the investment in such valuable real estate would enable Channel 2 to distinguish itself by replicating similar storefront setups at WLS-Ch. 7 and WMAQ-Ch. 5. The hope was the shine and gloss of the new headquarters would translate into better ratings for the station, long stranded in the doldrums. : But Channel 2's actual newsroom in the new building, directly above the studio, not only has a better view of the plaza, but has the look of, well, an authentic TV newsroom. : So as long as WBBM is recalibrating its newscasts and everything else under new station boss Bruno Cohen and news chief Jeff Kiernan, is it any surprise the station would weigh moving its news up and out of the ground-level studio? : "It's one of a number of interesting ideas that we're looking at for developing our newscast and we're going to look at it seriously," Cohen said. : Whether a fix -- to anything -- is as easy as that remains to be seen, and other scenarios are being discussed. : What exactly would happen to the space from which Channel 2 now does its news if the broadcasts were moved upstairs is not entirely clear. The station "has responsibilities to the city and our landlord that we're certainly going to honor," Cohen said. : Preliminary planning for the new office space and studios date back at least six or seven years, when many media companies were bigger than they are today, and some were even poised for growth. : Now WBBM not only has plenty of room for improvement in the ratings, it has plenty of room, period. : (Chicago Tribune)

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